Obamas Hold Low-Key Super Bowl Party

When he came into office in 2009, President Barack Obama saw the Super Bowl as a chance to ease partisan tensions in Washington. For the big game that year between the Steelers and the Cardinals, the president hosted a large Super Bowl party that included 15 senators and congressmen, Republicans and Democrats alike.

At the time, a White House spokesman portrayed the guest list as part of a strategic effort to reach across the aisle.

The president, former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at the time, believed that time spent with Republicans “is a worthy investment of his time.”

These days? Maybe not so much.

Before the Ravens and 49ers took the field Sunday, the White House put out a statement that the Obamas were hosting “a personal party for friends and family … .”

The guest list wasn’t disclosed. But it doesn’t look like congressional Republicans were sharing Chesapeake Crab Cakes and San Francisco Cioppino Stew with the first family.

We also checked with the senators from the teams’ homes states — California and Maryland. None was at the White House on Sunday. The senior senator from California, Democrat Dianne Feinstein, was “rooting for 49ers from San Fran …” an aide said. Sen. Barbara Boxer was also watching the game from California, a spokesman said.

Maryland senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, both Democrats, were in Baltimore on Sunday.

At the White House, quiet Super Bowl parties seem to be the new norm.

In 2010 and 2011, the Obamas also invited lawmakers to the White House Super Bowl Party. But the tradition stopped last year. Before the Super Bowl in 2012, First Lady Michelle Obama told Rachael Ray in an interview, “It’ll probably be a quiet Super Bowl this year.”

Is this a lost opportunity? Mr. Obama has lots of business with Capitol Hill: gun control, immigration and the budget. Even prominent Democrats believe Mr. Obama needs to spend more time talking to lawmakers informally: more casual breakfasts, golf outings and phone calls. It’s a way to build trust.

“I think there are a lot of Republicans at this point that feel that given how much energy has been devoted in some of the media that’s preferred by Republican constituencies to demonize me, that it doesn’t look real good socializing with me,” the president said.

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